06/10/13- - “Don” Jail inmate says jail guards attacked him

A former inmate of the Toronto “Don” Jail has testified he was viciously attacked by two correctional officers for no other reason than asking why he was being moved from one cell to another.

The trial, which began Monday, will revolve around surveillance video which the Crown alleges shows Mark Moore and Ian Johnson assaulting Cosmo James in two separate incidents on June 30, 2011.

Moore and Johnson have pleaded not guilty to assault. Defence lawyers are expected to argue their clients used reasonable force in executing their jailhouse duties so their actions were lawful.

At the time, James was in the jail serving a sentence for possession of a firearm and facing trial for possessing drugs for the purpose of trafficking.

James testified Monday that just after 2:30 p.m. on June 30, he was taken from his segregation cell to meet with his lawyer. Instead, Johnson placed him in another cell and got angry when James questioned him about it, he testified.

“He (Johnson) put on his gloves and he punched me in the face . . . and then put me in a chokehold.”

James ended up curled into a ball on the floor trying to block a series of blows, he testified, standing in the prisoner’s box and raising his arms across his face.

At that point, a “Code Blue” emergency alert was activated, causing more than a dozen correctional officers to rush to the scene, including Moore.

“I remember him (Moore) kicking me in my head,” James said, adding he lost consciousness and woke up as a nurse cleaned blood off his face.

Moore and Johnson no longer work at the jail.

During cross-examination, defence lawyer John Rosen portrayed James as a “violent, dishonest, non-compliant member of our society” with a lengthy rap sheet. He also cited numerous run-ins James has had with jailhouse staff.

On the afternoon of the altercation, Rosen said, James was in his cell smoking dope when Johnson told him to hand the contraband over.

James refused and was being transferred to another cell for monitoring when the incident occurred, Rosen said. James denied that’s what happened.

James also stated he has been manhandled by corrections staff at other institutions. Had there been no surveillance this time there would be no criminal charges, he said, adding now “the world’s going to see it.”

“I know you have an agenda,” Rosen responded.

James, who is in custody on numerous robbery charges, was incredulous that Rosen could not see for himself that James was assaulted simply by watching the video.

“Do you think the camera distorted it like that — like the Rob Ford video?” he said sarcastically, apparently referring to the suggestion that the infamous crack video was faked.